When not to communicate by email - lessons in reputation management

Posted by: Paul Matthews

Here in New Zealand, an unfortunate public squabble has erupted in the last week between the surviving children of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, conqueror of Mount Everest and national hero, and the Auckland Museum, to which Hillary bequeathed his documents.  I won’t delve into the complex details of the dispute  - there seems to be more to this issue than currently meets the eye.

Both sides have certainly made strong cases to the media over the last few days. Today, however, according to this story in the New Zealand Herald, a poorly worded communique from the Museum suggests that that institution may have given up on the communications task at hand and, dare I say it, abrogated its responsibility.

The Museum is a major public and cultural asset belonging to the city. So, it is poor form at the very least, Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook groups - Why some flourish and others fail

Posted by: Mike Shaw

Facebook groups cover seemingly everything, from people’s pet hates to their political views. However, the relative success or failure of such groups varies greatly. Why do some groups fail to take off, while others go viral and spread across the planet accumulating millions along the way?

Here are my observations on Facebook groups and some tips for success:

The four key groups:

Read the rest of this entry »

How NOT to manage a crisis: ‘when all else fails, try bribing search engines!’

Posted by: Paul Matthews

There are many recommendations Bullet PR would make regarding online reputation management, especially during a time of crisis. These would not include however, a recommendation to bribe search engines to exclude negative content! Read the rest of this entry »